04/12/2023 12:27 (act. 04/12/2023 12:27)
Özdemir and Lauterbach present plans ©APA/dpa
In Germany, possession of up to 25 grams of cannabis and growing a maximum of three plants should be exempt from punishment in the future. Furthermore, the federal government in Berlin wants to allow the cultivation and sale of the drug in special associations. German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach and Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir presented less comprehensive plans for the legalization project than originally planned in Berlin on Wednesday.
For now, the planned specialty cannabis stores where Rausch products can be freely sold will not exist. This will only be tested in a second step and only in some model regions – with scientific support. The government agreed to this after talks with the EU Commission, he said.
Lauterbach and Özdemir fundamentally defended the legalization plans and reinforced the government’s argument that the plan was intended to curb the black market and reduce crime. “Nobody should have to buy from dealers without knowing what they are buying,” Özdemir said. Lauterbach spoke of a controlled supply of cannabis to adults “within clear limits… flanked by preventive measures for young people”. The previous cannabis policy had failed.
The new pillars of the legalization project now presented are another intermediate step. The next thing to be presented in April is a first concrete bill to regulate property, self-cultivation and associations – the so-called social cannabis clubs. After a government vote and a cabinet decision, this would have to be approved by the German Bundestag and Bundesrat.